Lifehacker

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Friday, September 29, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 29, NYT Connections #110! Scroll down if you want some hints (and then the answer) to...Read more...

This Saturday, the Iowa State Cyclones travel to Norman, Okla. to take on the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners in a Big 12 matchup. Both teams are coming off victories: Iowa State thrashed Oklahoma State last week, earning a 34-27 victory at home, and Oklahoma destroyed Cincinnati 20-6 in an away game. While OK's...Read more...

One week after its initial announcement, Microsoft has released its big Copilot update for Windows 11. Now, this isn't the major Windows 11 update that everyone is waiting on-that's coming later this year-but it does give us a good look at how Microsoft is incorporating AI-based tools into Windows.Read more...

Student loan bills are due once again after a pandemic hiatus (yes, even if the government shuts down). The Biden administration's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan allows many borrowers to lower their monthly payments-some all the way to $0-but some people may also qualify for grants or loan forgiveness...Read more...

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days are coming Oct. 10-11, offering Prime members exclusive deals on tons of stuff Amazon sells. But some of Amazon's in-house tech products are already seeing discounts comparable to Prime Day. For example, the Echo Pop, Amazon's newest and cheapest Alexa-enabled smart speaker, is currently...Read more...

This week five matchup pits the Arizona Wildcats against the Washington Huskies. Washington is hoping to expand its undefeated 2023 record to 5-o, but the Wildcats are not going to roll over. While they're definitely the underdog, Arizona is coming off a 21-20 win against Stanford, and the team's 3-1 record is nothing...Read more...

There is a certain (I think) overly romantic expectation that a good turkey gravy must be made from pan drippings, and whisked together just moments before the Big Meal is put on the table. To this I say, No thank you," particularly when gravy can be made hours, days, or even weeks ahead of time, without any pan...Read more...

If you're considering a kitchen remodel, or you just need to replace your worn-out countertops, finding the right type of countertop might seem daunting. With costs for materials seemingly ever-increasing, staying on budget is a challenge. Finding a DIY solution can be a great way to save money on your countertop...Read more...

It's the end of the season, and we're all starting to tuck in our garden beds for winter. The soil in your raised garden bed has worked hard all season to impart nutrients to your vegetables and flowers, which leaves the soil depleted. The long winter sleep is a great time to let your soil build back up the supply of...Read more...

Mashed potatoes are easy enough to make, but getting them to that perfect,creamy texture is harder than it first appears. Fans of smooth spuds usually end up purchasing a ricer, which breaks down the spuds into tiny (rice-like) bits by forcing them through little holes. These extruded-but still fluffy-spud flecks are...Read more...

There's a lot to love about Safari, but Google rules so much of the internet that using Chrome is sometimes a necessity. I can live with that, but what always frustrated me was the lack of iCloud Keychain compatibility. If I sign into an account in Safari, I can auto-fill passwords and 2FA codes with Touch ID every...Read more...

The Stanford Cardinal and Oregon Ducks are facing off this weekend at Stanford in a lopsided Pac-12 matchup. The Ducks are undefeated this season and are heavy favorites to win-the spread is 17.5 points in Oregon's favor.

This Saturday, Penn State is defending its nine-game winning streak when the team travels to Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten Conference game. Penn State is coming off a shutout victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes, scoring 31 unanswered points in a lopsided week-4 win. Northwestern is even at...Read more...

Drywall is relatively durable and cheap, and looks quite nice if installed and maintained correctly. But it's also easy to damage while you're just living your life-and it can even damage itself, most commonly through the appearance of little bumps under the surface known as nail pops." (Despite the name, nail pops...Read more...

Part of being an adult is feeling the constant need to replenish basic household supplies. One way to combat this loop is to be more mindful about recycling and re-purposing your stuff. But you can go one step further-there are many things we tend to treat as single-use" that can, in fact, be used more than once....Read more...

Amazon announced Prime Big Deal Days on October 10 and 11, during which Prime members can save on many products. But if you don't feel like waiting, then you'll appreciate Amazon's deal on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and Ring Floodlight Camera bundle, currently going for 40% 0ff. The wired security camera bundle...Read more...

Catastrophic thinking can be extraordinarily hard to cope with. Whether it's dealing with fears about your physical safety, the uncertainty of personal relationships, or the prospect of financial troubles, life can quickly feel far too big and out of control-while the worst-case scenarios, such as injury, financial...Read more...

Getting injured is always frustrating for a number of reasons, including the fact that you can't participate in your normal day-to-day activities, like working out. Recently I suffered a sprained wrist, and although it was pretty minor as injuries go, it did hamper my regular exercise routine. No longer was I able to...Read more...

Smart" applianced allow you to develop automations to make your life more efficient, create accessibility for those who need it, and make pedestrian tasks like doing laundry kind of fun. But what happens when you want to automate something that isn't smart? For this, you need a simple smart plug-a small device you...Read more...

We live in an age where we can put computers in our pockets, pull up any movie we want to see on our TV, and drive a car that runs on electricity-we certainly should be able to make the job of parenting a little easier with technology or other gadgets. And with every passing year, more practical and time-saving...Read more...

Dell Outlet, Dell's online website for selling refurbished and overstock tech, is currently running a generous sale on select models of refurbished laptops. It's a chance to pick up a computer that fits your needs-from a budget-priced workhorse to a machine with a powerful processor-at a significant savings.

The 2023 college football season is in full swing, and it's the end of an era. Division I is in the midst of a historic realignment-the once-mighty Pac-12 is now down to only four teams, and there are currently 18 teams in the Big 10." All this shifting around will leave college football's 2024 season looking ...Read more...

Customization is cool, at least on TikTok. I'm old enough to remember a time when ordering In-N-Out fries animal style" was a fast food in-crowd signifier of sorts. But now TikTok has ushered in a new, entirely unhinged hack the menu" culture. Some of these hacks" are harmless, if not really hacks-like smashing...Read more...

You know I have a dim view of AI coaches. They don't understand the things a real coach understands, like how to plan for long-term progress. So I was skeptical of Whoop's new AI coach" feature-until I realized its secret strength is explaining the app and its metrics to you.Read more...

Managing your inbox is a never-ending task, which is why we should simplify it as much as possible: And one way to do that is to rely on the four Ds, or the 4D method. It's easy to remember and easy to implement, which makes it helpful for anyone who has a pile of emails to contend with every day. Here's how to follow...Read more...

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, September 28, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 28, NYT Connections #109! Scroll to the end if you want some hints (and then the answer)...Read more...

Some podcasts have fans, and some podcasts have super fans. A show has to be really great to entice its listeners to join its Patreon and subreddit, buy its merch and attend its live events. These are fans who self-identify as members of the podcast's community, taking on names like Thought Leaders," Spoon Nation,"...Read more...

The latest version of macOS is now widely available, offering several small changes to the operating system you might miss if you don't know where to look. It really shouldn't be much of a surprise that Apple is once again playing things safe, offering what might seem like minor updates to its already solid operating...Read more...

We'll never say no to free coffee, and there's plenty to go around this week: National Coffee Day falls on Friday, Sept. 29, and International Coffee Day comes just two days later on Oct. 1. Here are a few deals to take advantage of.

While the headlining announcement of Meta Connect 2023 might be the Meta Quest 3, AI made its own significant splash. Like all other tech companies right now, Meta is pouring resources into artificial intelligence, and previewed a slew of new AI features coming to its apps and services over the next few months months.

Tulips are the flower world's most addictive drug-plant them once and you'll never stop. Seeing those pops of color come up at the beginning of spring provides a needed hit of dopamine after a long, gray winter. There's a reason tulip festivals are popular, and if you want to reproduce that look at home, you don't...Read more...

I consider myself a champion of processed cheese. Velveeta, Kraft Singles, and the like may not belong on a cheese board, but they have their places, usually in a Crockpot of queso dip, in a grilled cheese sandwich, or on a burger. They are engineered to melt and stay gooey and stretchy, something you don't get with a...Read more...

I know I think about Thanksgiving more than the average person, but it's never too early to start planning the big meal. If you're a true over-achiever, that can mean making and freezing a few dishes, to cut down on your day-of labor, and mashed potatoes are surprisingly freezer-friendly.Read more...

Plenty of people avoid the stock market out of fear, but learning how it works can help you make the right choices to mitigate your personal risk. If you're looking to learn the secrets" to investing before getting started, I'm sorry to report that there really aren't any. Investing your money is one of the best ways...Read more...

Anger is a big feeling, especially when a kid experiences it. Whether arguing over a toy with a sibling or not getting something they wanted, a furious child can spin out of control anywhere: at the park, on a Target run, or during playtime at school. And hearing that your son or daughter hit, pushed, or bit someone...Read more...

I grew up playing 90s computer games, and must admit my earliest memory of playing a video game of any kind is of the bloody, first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D that my father had installed on his Windows 95 computer.

Those synthetic, packaged spider webs that are so often pulled across bushes and trees as decor for Halloween are certainly spooky-but they're also a hazard for birds and other wildlife. The stretchy material, often made from polyester, can trap bees, hummingbirds, and even bats by causing them to get tangled in the...Read more...

The Mini Dual Tube Night Vision Binoculars are on sale for $99.99 right now (reg. $159). It weighs less than a pound, has 10X optical magnification, allows you to save videos and photos, and its night vision feature lets you see up to 984 feet in complete darkness. Its 850nm infrared illuminator lets you see animals...Read more...

Right now, Southwest Airlines is offering 50% off certain flights when you book by Thursday, Sept. 28. The discount is for the base fare, meaning it will be applied before taxes and fees are applied to your total price. You need to book before midnight on Thursday and use the promo code WOW50". The flights must also...Read more...

The next time you're DJing a party, don't hand your phone to someone to let them add a song to the playlist. Spotify's new Jam feature allows you to add an entire group of people to a playlist so they can all add songs themselves, which could lead to spectacular or disastrous results.Read more...

Netflix's horror lineup for October includes The Fall of the House of Usher, a limited series based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe that tells the story of mysterious deaths among a wealthy family of pharmaceutical heirs (Oct. 12), as well as Veronica origin story Sister Death (Oct. 27), and Swedish slasher The...Read more...

If you focus too hard on your learning style," you run the risk of getting boxed in by it. Whether you prefer to learn visually, auditorily, by reading or writing, or kinesthetically, there are benefits to using methods that align with all four of the main styles-and times when you'll have to, whether you like it or...Read more...

Smartphone cameras changed the game forever. Sure, they still don't technically compete with a DSLR, but for most people, that doesn't matter: Their iPhone can snap a portrait shot with bokeh good enough to never pick up a dedicated camera ever again. Now, the tech has gotten so good you don't need to shoot in...Read more...

This five-year subscription to OysterVPN is on sale for $30 right now (reg. $149). It has over 154 servers globally and offers privacy across five devices with no data cap. Connecting to one of the OysterVPN servers hides your location for privacy, and also allows access to region-locked streaming apps like Netflix,...Read more...

Whether you live in a fire-prone area, have pets, or burn your food often, you could benefit from having a great air purifier. And it doesn't hurt to get one at a great price. Amazon is currently selling the Morento H13 Air Purifier for 71% off when you click the $20 clip coupon and use promo code JKYM65DE" at...Read more...

Our phones can shoot incredible video. But sometimes, things don't look right. Every now and then, you record a video, but all the lights appear to flicker. Maybe it's an outdoor shot at night, and the street lights are going nuts. Or maybe you're trying to record a screen, and it's flickering for seemingly no reason....Read more...

In the old days of mechanical telephones, a wiretap would require someone- usually a government agency-to literally change the circuitry of your lines to listen in. These days, smartphones make tapping much easier than that. With very little know-how, someone can install software that remotely monitors where you are...Read more...

Are you suddenly seeing delta-9 THC products on the shelves in bars, gas stations, or convenience stores near you? Since when has 7-11 been a dispensary, and is the product on display at all similar to what's sold in a licensed cannabis dispensary? The current confusion can be traced back to one key moment in the...Read more...

If you're looking for the Connections answer for Wednesday, September 27, 2023, read on-I'll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 27, NYT Connections #108! Scroll to the end if you want some hints (and then the answer)...Read more...

The iPad Pro is one of the most powerful tablets you can get right now. It has Apple's M2 SoC inside, the same chip the company puts in its MacBooks. If you've been looking for a reason to pull the trigger on a purchase, you can save $100 on the sixth-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro on Amazon right now (though that could...Read more...